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RECYCLING: Clitheroe firm finds new use for old carpets
Graham Charnock and Kelly Peel from Primrose Carpets who have started operating a carpet recycling centre.
carpets aren’t flying to the council tip any more – they’re being recycled.
Clitheroe company Primrose Mill Carpets has set up a non-profit offshoot company under a national government-backed scheme, with the aim of recycling three tons of carpet and underlay every week – 150 tons a year.
The scheme is are already well on the way to hitting the target as company bosses prepare for an official launch next month.
Every year, a staggering 400,000 tons of old carpet and underlay are sent to landfill in the UK.
But with a bit of effort, most of it could find new uses from sports surfaces to compost...and even new carpets.
Primrose has a main store in Primrose Road and other shops in Accrington and Blackburn.
Its recycling company, called Lancashire Carpet Re-use and Recycling, is at Spring Hill Mill, Accrington, and is affiliated to the trade association Carpet Recycling UK.
“Carpet waste and underlay is heavy and takes up a lot of space,” said Graham Charnock, a director of Primrose Carpets.
“The idea of the scheme is to stop it going to landfill and put it to good use instead.”
Once collected, the old carpets have to be carefully identified and separated according to the material they are made from, and then passed on to industry.
Nylon can be extruded into plastic, polypropylene can be shredded and pelleted as a raw material for products, and wool can be blended with other fibres or made into insulation material and even compost.
Graham added: “We’ve set ourselves a target of three tons a week, and we’re doing two tons already. Once we’ve had our official launch we should have no trouble hitting our target.
“Anybody who wants to find out more about the scheme is welcome to contact us.”
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Weather for Clitheroe
Friday 24 May 2013
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